Helping Teens Connect to Brighter Days

Like they do in many Reclaiming Futures communities, juvenile probation officers in Ventura County, Calif., play a critical role in the success of teens caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
Ventura County Probation Agency Division Manger, Theresa Hart, spoke with us recently about the benefits of connecting teens to counseling services, employment and higher education.

While they need to be held accountable, young people also need to be encouraged and led toward healthy activities. Fortunately for the teens in Ventura County, there are options like sports, art and photography, that connect the community.
Probation officers in Ventura County Reclaiming Futures have many partners and access to special activities, like community gardens, where kids can grow the ingredients to make their own salsa, and music studios, where they write and record original music.
We applaud these caring adults, who are showing teens that they can choose a better future.

Reclaiming Futures helps young people in trouble with drugs, alcohol and crime. Its six-step model unites juvenile courts, probation, treatment, mental health and the community to reclaim youth. Please call 503-725-8911 for more information about bringing Reclaiming Futures to your community. 
Photo at right: Teens at Play in the Maiibu Sunset.

Susan Richardson is national executive director for Reclaiming Futures. Formerly, she was a senior program officer in the health care division of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in North Carolina, where she led a three-year effort involving the state's juvenile justice and treatment leaders to adopt the Reclaiming Futures model by juvenile courts in six North Carolina counties. She received her B.S. in Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.